A Weird Kind of Conversation
by WildFlower084
Summary: It was just such a weird kind of conversation.
1. Chapter 1 Temperance Brennan

_I'm back! I enjoyed so much writing Turning Back Time and Just Perfect that I just had to write another fan fiction. This one is a bit special, you'll see why as you read on. Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think._

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The day had been fairly long. An explosion had occured in a warehouse near the Jeffersonian and Brennan, along with her team, had been called to the ruins to do some bone collecting and some identification. Her team had worked for hours trying to collect all of the bones they could find and when they had gotten back to the Jeffersonian they were all pretty exhausted. But there had been more work to be done. Zack and Brennan had cleaned off most of the bones, Angela had drawn a few sketches and two bodies had been identified. They had started at 10:00 am in the morning and it was now close to seven.

She walked in to Sid's hoping to find Booth sitting at their usual spot. Surprisingly he wasn't there. A bit disappointed, she went to sit at the counter.

"The usual?" Sid asked even though there were no need.

Brennan simply nodded. A couple of minutes later, Sid was coming back with a plate and a cup of coffee.

She ate quietly and listened to the conversations of the people surrounding her. She really thought Booth was going to be there. She had actually looked forward to seeing him. Where could he be? She wanted to ask Sid if he had seen him but decided not to.

Suddenly a particular conversation sprang to her mind.

"_Next time you miss me, pick up the phone, call me. We'll do lunch."_

Of course she hadn't missed him that time but now she found herself missing him. Should she call him? Would she be bothering him? What if he were busy? OK it was a bit too late for lunch but maybe dinner. She immediately realized that it was too late for dinner as well as she looked down at her plate. Alright, so it was also too late for dinner but hey this was Washington. There was bound to be something to do in this city. She had made up her mind. She was calling him.

As she looked through her purse for her cellphone she heard the door to the restaurant open. She didn't bother to look up. She knew that it wasn't Booth. She rummaged through her purse as the stranger walked past her and sat down two stools away from hers. Brennan still didn't look up.

"What will it be, Miss?" she heard Sid to the newcomer.

The woman answered and Sid disappeared in the kitchen. Had Brennan looked up, she would have seen the weird glance Sid had thrown her. But she didn't, still busy looking for her phone.

She finnally found what she was looking for and she was about to dial Booth's number when her eyes fell on the woman not far from her. It was unbelievable how much she looked like her! The hair was the color, they had the same eyes, the same face. If the woman hadn't been a good ten years older than her, maybe more, Brennan would have sworn the stranger would have been her twin sister.

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, the woman looked up and turned to Brennan. She seemed to have notice the similarity too. She got up and took the stool next to Temperance.

"We look alike." The woman stated.

_Stating the obvious but ok._ Brennan thought. But she simply replied with a nod.

"I'm Temperance Brennan." The woman added. "Dr. Temperance Brennan."

Bones felt her jaw dropped. Temperance Brennan? The woman _had_ to be kidding. She was definetely playing a joke on her. The woman probably knew who Bones was and that's why she had introduced herself as she did. Her name couldn't possibly be Temperance Brennan.

The woman seemed to be waiting for some kind of reply from Bones and Bones felt pressured to give one.

"You're kidding, right?" Bones asked her.

"No. Why would I be kidding?"

"_My _name is Temperance Brennan and I'm also a doctor."

"Really? What kind?" Temperance asked excitedly.

"I don't see how that is important." Bones replied.

Temperance didn't seem to hear her response or if she did she simply decided to ignore it. She went on talking about herself.

"I'm a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Charlotte, North Carolina but I also work for the Laboratoires des sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale in Montreal, Canada. I've just finished working on a case with the Washington Police and I'm waiting for my boyfriend to show up so we can catch our plane. But you know men, _always_ late. What kind of doctor did you say you were?"

"I didn't." Bones replied.

Bones looked at the woman suspiciously. If this was a joke she was surely playing her role well. She really looked like she didn't know who Bones was and that surprised her. But what surprised her even more was that this woman claimed to have worked on a case with the Washington Police, a case that she hadn't heard about and she was the head anthropologist in Washington. Had Booth known about this?

"I'm the head forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute here in Washington." Bones then said to the woman.

Surprisingly the woman didn't seem surprised.

" "I've never heard of you." Temperance said.

"I've never heard of you either." Bones replied truthfully.

Sid set the plate down in front of Temperance and his eyes shifted to Bones. She simply shrugged at Sid's questionning look and he disappeared once again in the kitchen. Apparently some new customers had walked in and were waiting for their food.

Temperance started eating quickly and Bones couldn't help but notice that the woman looked starved.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast. Ryan took me out to this really nice restaurant near our hotel. The food was delicious but expensive."

"Ryan?" Bones asked.

"My boyfriend. We were on our way to Charlotte to see my daughter when I got the call from the Washington Police. We're actually leaving for Charlotte tonight. I can't wait to see my daughter. I haven't seen her in almost a year."

"You have a daughter?"

Bones didn't know why she was asking so many questions. A part of her was telling her to shut up and the other part was urging her to go on, to find out more about this strange woman who looked an awful lot like herself, who had the same name and who had the same profession as her. It was like... talking to herself, an older version of herself.

"Yep." Temperance replied before taking a bit of her food.

She swallowed it before pursuing.

"Her name is Katy. She just graduated university. I'm so proud of her. At a point I thought she was going to drop out but she just went ahead and surprised me. Kids can be so surprising. Do you have any kids?"

"No."

Temperance nodded.

"Aren't you going to eat your food? It's going to get cold."

Bones didn't know why but she did as she was told. She picked up her chinese sticks and took a bit of her rice. Temperance simply smiled.

"Do you have someone in your life? A boyfriend, a husband?"

"No."

"Really? Nobody?"

Bones looked up at her older twin. She could see that Temperance didn't believe her but what was there to say? Yes, there is someone in my life except we just work together and nothing will ever happen because they want different things out of life? To her surprise, the words just blurted out of her mouth and Temperance was surprised.

"Really? _Nothing_ could ever happen? I don't believe that."

"Why not?" Bones asked, still recovering from the shock of her sudden confession.

"Because you can't run away from that kind of stuff really long. Trust me, it's happened to me. It took years of flirting and of going back and forth before I finally agreed to date Ryan. I fought so much to keep my head straight and my feelings sorted out when it came to him but it just didn't work. Then one day I just stopped and it was the best decision I ever made. My divorce with Pete was rough and I thought I'd never date after that. Well the joke was on me."

"You divorced a man named Pete? I had a boyfriend named Peter but everybody called him Pete."

"Ironic."

"Yeah."

There was a short silence between the two woman before Temperance continued her story.

"All I'm saying Temperance is that you have to give that man a shot."

"Trust me, there are days when I would _gladly_ shoot him." Bones replied.

Temperance looked confused.

"I don't know what that means."

"Yeah I know."

They ate in silence for the rest of the meal and when they were both done, Sid brought them their dessert and some more coffee. The women still didn't talk. There was no more to be said. Bones couldn't actually believe that she had opened up to a woman she didn't know just because she simply looked like her.

_But there is so much more than that._ Her mind told her.

Yes, there were. Everything she had just said sounded a lot like her own life, except maybe for the daughter and her parents. This Temperance hadn't mentionned what had happened to her parents. Then again maybe nothing _had_ happened. It didn't mean that just because Temperance and her seemed to share some kind of parrallel lives that it meant everything that had happened in the other woman's life was the same as in her own.

After dessert, Temperance looked at her watch.

"Where is he? He's at least an hour late. We're going to miss our flight."

"What time is your flight leaving?"

"Nine and it's already six-thirty." Temperance replied, obviously annoyed.

Her answer made Bones laugh and a small smile spread over Temperance's face.

"Don't worry. You still have plenty of time."

"I guess."

"So why did you pick this profession anyway?"

"Well I've always been good in science and this work just called to me. How about you? Why did you choose that field?"

"My... parents disappeared when I was 15, my brother moved out west and I went into the foster system. I picked this profession because I wanted to help people find the answers that I had been looking for for a long time."

"That's so sad but I'm sure you'll eventually find out what happened to your parents. We always get answers sooner or later."

Temperance took a sip of her coffee.

"What's your brother's name?" she then asked.

"Russ."

"That is so weird. I had a brother named Russ but he died of leukemia when he was just a baby."

Somehow Bones wasn't surprised.

The door to Sid's opened and a tall and handsome blue-eyed man walked in. Temperance's face immediately lit up and she jumped up from her seat. The man's smile matched her own. Something in the man reminded Bones of Booth but she couldn't quite pin-point what but as she looked at Ryan, she suddenly found herself wishing she was staring at Booth, that his smile was for her and not for the older woman behind her and that she was the one about to leave on a trip to visit some relative with her boyfriend.

Temperance reached in her pocket and took out some money. She put it on the counter. Bones watched her.

"Don't forget what I told you, Temperance. Give that man a chance. It might be the best decision you ever made. And if things don't work out, you can always blame your twin."

Bones nodded and smiled. She watched Temperance joined her boyfriend at the door. Just before the anthropologist walked out, Bones called her name.

"What does your boyfriend do for a living?" she asked her.

"He's a cop." Temperance replied, a weird smile spreading over her face.

Bones nodded. Deep down, she knew that she had already known that.

* * *

_TBC?_


	2. Chapter 2 Walk with Booth

_A/N: Just wanted to thanks everyone for the reviews. I know this story is strange, I was planning on only making it a oneshot but I thouht that I should continue on writing. From the reviews I'm getting the feeling that I confused a couple of you. I promise to explain myself in the following chapters. _

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She knew what she had to do. She had to take Temperance's advice and talk to Booth. She didn't know why she was actually listening to a perfect stranger, she just knew that she had to do it. Whoever that woman had been, she knew that she had been right. She didn't know whether or not things between her and Booth would work out or not and she would never until she actually tried. The woman had opened her eyes and made her realize some stuff. She didn't know how that woman had managed that but then again it had been one hell of a weird conversation. 

She knocked on Booth's door shortly after eight-thirty. As she waited for him to answer she thought back to Temperance and Ryan. They would be at the airport by now, she thought. She then wondered why she was thinking about them.

Booth answered his door a few seconds later and Bones could see that he was more than surprised to see her.

"Bones? What are you doing here?" he asked her, trying to conceal his surprise and his happiness to see her.

"Wanna go for a walk?"

* * *

They walked through the park. The sun was starting to set, most parents were taking their kids back to the comfort of their homes. That left a few teenagers here and there, sitting on swings or pic-nic tables, _chilling_, like they would say. Bones had been rather quiet and Booth was starting to wonder why she had asked him to go for a walk if she wasn't planning on saying anything. He looked furtively at her. She didn't seem to notice. In fact she looked rather lost in her thoughts. 

"Bones, are you planning on talking or are we going to stay quiet the whole walk?"

Bones turned to her voice and felt herself blush.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?"

She looked like she was going to answer. She had actually taken a deep breath but at the last second she had decided to change the subject.

"Not here. Let's go somewhere else."

They walked some more. They actually left the park and walked through the streets of Booth's neighborhood. It was actually a pretty nice neighborhood, Brennan thought, as they walked. Maybe she should move here. She'd be closer to work, no doubt, and closer to... Booth.

They walked some more in silence. Booth took a look at his watch. They had been walking for twenty minutes and she still hadn't said anything. He usually loved her company but this was getting a tad boring. He was about to tell her so when she opened her mouth to talk.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to say that I'm crazy?" Bones asked him.

"When have I ever said you were crazy?" Booth replied, a smirk plastered on his face.

He felt her punch him lightly on the arm.

"Seriously, Booth, I want you to promise me."

"I promise, Bones. Now will you please just tell me."

She took a deep breath.

"I met my twin today."

"What?"

He didn't really understand what she was saying. She had seen her twin? Since when did she have a twin? She had never told him that before. Then again maybe she hadn't known she had one.

"Except she wasn't my twin because she was much older than I was. She was like forty something."

"Bones, what the hell are you talking about?"

"It was like we had been leading parellel lives."

"How much have you drank tonight? Are you drunk? Or maybe high?"

Bones glared at him.

"I'm not any of those, Booth. You can even ask Sid. He saw her. She looked exactly like me, except she was older. We got to talking. She said her name was Temperance Brennan. At first I thought she was kidding but I soon realized that she wasn't. And get this! She's also a forensic anthropologist. She had been working on a case, here in Washington, for the local police. Did you know about this?"

"No. Why?"

"No reason. I just found it weird. I'm the head anthropologist in Washington, I would have heard about this case."

"Not necessarily. You said she worked with the local police. Maybe they had met her before and simply asked her to help. Maybe they tried to reach you but you were unavailable."

"Maybe."

She hadn't thought about that.

"What else did you two talk about?"

"She told me about her life, mostly. It was so weird. She had a brother named Russ who died as an infant, she was married to a man named Pete and her boyfriend was a cop. I'm telling you, Booth. This woman leads practically the exact same life as me."

"You have a boyfriend who's a cop?" Booth asked her.

For the second time this evening Bones felt herself blush. She looked away from Booth.

"No... I was talking about the other things."

Booth nodded and fought the urge to laugh.

"So is that all you two talked about? I'm gettingthe feelingthat you're not telling me everything."

Bones looked down at the sidewalk underneath her feet. She looked at the cracks in between the tiles and remembered that, as a kid, she had been dead scared of these cracks. She thought that if she stepped on them she would get sucked into the earth. She laughed at the thought.

"What's so funny?" he asked her.

"Oh nothing. I was just thinking about something I did as a child."

"What was it?"

She told him and Booth laughed.

"Wanna know a secret? I used to think the same thing." Booth then added.

"Can we go back to your place now?"

"Sure."

And they walked back to Booth's apartment, once again in silence.

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_TBC of course... if you guys want to. Sorry that this chapter is so weird. I lost the inspiration right in the middle of it. Doing crossovers is pretty difficult, I would have never thought._


	3. Chapter 3 What Happened Part 1

_I'm really glad you are all enjoying my story. Here is chapter three, and I have to apologize for the shortness._

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Booth paced back and forth in his apartment, completely shocked. He stopped to look at the clock. It was 10:00 pm. It had been thirty minutes since it had happened. He still couldn't believe it. Everything had happened so quickly.

They had walked back to his apartment and she had gone quiet once again. Booth hadn't forced her to talk this time. He knew something was on her mind, other than her meeting with her "twin", but he also knew that if you wanted Temperance to confide in you, you had to respect her rythym and actually wait for her to open up. He had decided to wait.

When they had gotten home, Booth had invited her in. She had answered him with a quivering voice that hadn't sounded like her own. She had also hung back a bit while he had unlocked his door and had walked in slowly, almost scared. Booth watched fer attentively and wondered what was wrong with her.

She had stayed in front of the door, even after closing it behind her. Worried and a bit annoyed, he had to admit, he asked her if she wanted something to eat or drink but she declined.

"OK Bones, what's up? You've been acting weird all night."

If only he had known what she had been about to say, he wouldn't have been so harsh. But as the words reached his ears and registred in his brain, guilt kicked in.

"I love you, Booth."

He had been taken aback by her revelation and hadn't known what to say at that moment. His eyes had grown wide with surprise and Bones had taken that negatively. She had panicked, mumbled some stuff that Booth didn't quite catch, and he even thought he had seen tears in her eyes. As she rambled on, Booth slowly came back to himself and was about to stop her from leaving when she walked out the apartment and slammed the door behind her.

This had happened thirty minutes ago and Booth was still shocked. She couldn't have possibly said that. She loved him? Was that possible? Since when? Why hadn't he said anything? If he had told her something she wouldn't hae left. They would probably be in his room at that particular moment, he'd be holding her and showing her how much he loves her. But no. Instead his brain had decided to shut down and all he had managed to do was stare blankly at her. He mentally kicked himself. He had to fix the damages that he had made. He had to talk to her.

He tried calling her but she didn't pick up. He left a message on her machine before hanging up, knowing fully well that she wasn't going to call him back. She was embarrassed because of him, she'd hide from him for a few days. But where? They worked together. They were bound to have a case in the next few days. No, he needed to straightened things out tonight. Tomorrow would be too late.

He tried her cell phone. She had turned it off. Cursing to himself he admitted defeat. He decided to go to bed. He'd talk to her in the morning.

"Angela, where's Brennan?" Booth asked as he jogged in the lab.

"Well good morning to you too, handsome." Angela replied, lowering her sketchbook.

"I'm sorry." Booth replied, rolling his eyes and sighing slightly. "Good morning Angela. Have you seen Brennan?"

"No I haven't seen her. Why?"

"I'm looking for her."

"Well you won't find her here."

"What?"

"She's gone on a trip. She called in this morning saying she was leaving and didn't know when she was coming back."

"Why didn't you tell me this when I asked you if you had seen her?"

"Because you asked me if I had seen her and I told the truth, I didn't see her."

"Ha ha, very funny. Do you know where she went?"

"Nope. Miss her, do ya?" Angela asked him, teasingly.

Before he could answer it dawned on him where Brennan had taken off to. Excusing himself he ran back out of the lab, out of the museum and into his SUV. It was 8:20 am. Dr. Goodman and Angela arrived at the lab around 8:00 so Brennan must have just called. He had about less than an hour to pack his stuff and drive off to the airport.

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_As I said before, sorry this is so short. I'll definetely update this week-end, if not then Monday morning._


	4. Chapter 4 What Happened Part 2

_A/N: Another short chapter (sorry), this time, Brennan's POV.

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_

No no NO! Was all Temperance could think about as she walked in her apartment. Why did she have to tell him that? It was obvious that he didn't feel the same way. She could still see his face after she had told him that she loved him. He hadn't reacted, he had simply stared. There had been no reaction on his face other than the look of fear he had as his eyes widened in surprise. She knew from that moment that she had made a mistake. She knew she shouldn't have listened to that woman. Booth didn't love her the way she did. He simply saw her as a friend or most likely simply as a partner.

Tears fell down her face but she didn't try to stop them. Yes. A good crying session was what she needed. She knew she'd feel a whole lot better afterwards. Letting herself drop on her couch, she cried freely.

She didn't know how long she had been crying when she heard her phone ring. She didn't bother to get up. Whoever it was could leave a message. It was probably Angela anyway calling her to see if she wanted to go out to this club but Temperance didn't feel like it. She just wanted to stay home.

As the phone rang Temperance replayed the whole thing in her head once again. The way she had expressed her deepest feeling and how she hadn't gotten one single positive reaction. She could still see Booth's face, neutral, and his eyes growing in surprise and fear.

The phone rang and rang but Temperance didn't get up. To her ears, the rings almost sounded sad and she wondered if Booth could be the caller. She didn't have to wait long for an answer. Her answering machine soon picked up the call.

She heard herself in her message first then heard the _beep._ And as the voice of Booth filled the room she slowly drift off to better times.

"Temperance, please pick up the phone. I know you're home. I'm sorry..."

"_And I'm sorry."_

"_For what?"_

"_You have personal experience in the system."_

_She looked up at him. He looked truly sorry. She could forgive him his lack of trust. How could he have known about her story. She had never opened up to him._

"But you just left. You didn't even give me a chance to explain."

"_I'm sorry."_

"_You had something to accomplish, you found a logical way of getting what you needed."_

_He was giving her his puppy eyes again. She knew she wouldn't be able to resist._

"_I probably would've done the same thing."_

_The relieved smile he had given her had shot bolts of annoyance through her body. He knew she was going to forgive him._

"I'm sorry I didn't react but put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel if someone you worked with told you they were in love with you?"

"_You don't want to think about it? It's a pretty big favor."_

"_You'd do it for me."_

"_Yeah I would."_

"I don't really feel like talking about this over an answering machine. Call me back, OK? Please?"

She let a few more tears trail down her face as Booth hung up and the machine registered the message. There was no way in hell she was going to call him back, not after what she had done. Had it been just her or had he sounded a bit depressed on the message? No, he hadn't been. Of course not. He couldn't have been because he didn't love her and he never would. She could still see his scared expression as his eyes grew in surprise. No he didn't love her.

Rays of sunlight hit her face and she slowly opened her eyes. What time was it? She turned to the clock on her wall and saw that it was almost seven. She yawned widely and sat up. Her neck was sore from having slept on the couch all night, she knew that her eyes would be puffy and most likely bloodshot and her face felt sticky.

She got up and went to the bathroom. A good shower was what she needed. She stopped to look at herself in the mirror before climbing into the shower. She had been right. Her eyes were red from having cried all night and she could see the trails her tears had made on her cheeks. Had she cried even after she had fallen asleep? She remembered her friend Leslie in high school. She had slept over at her house one night after Leslie's boyfriend had dumped her and she remembered waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of sobbing. She had seen tears falling from her friend's eyes even if she had been sound asleep. Had this happened to her? But this hadn't been a break up. It had been... just one big mistake.

She turned on the shower and climbed into it.

The hotness of the water woke up completely and as she stepped out of the shower, fifteen minutes later, she noticed that her thoughts were clearer. She knew what she had to do. She had done some thinking.

She knew she wouldn't sleep until she found her twin. She needed to know who this person really was. She had to go to Charlotte to see this woman. She needed the vacation anyway, she needed time away from Washington to really think through what she was going to tell Booth when she'd come back. Because she would take care of that problem only after her small trip.

She had made up her mind. She was going to Charlotte.

* * *

_TBC obviously._


	5. Chapter 5 Flight 341

_A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews. Sorry this chapter is so short but I've been going through major writer's block with this story. I promise I am going somewhere though even if I haven't gotten the ending completely worked out yet. Enough chit-chatting for now, let's get you reading._

_Disclaimer: Of course I do not own Bones, unfortunately. Would love to own Booth though (who wouldn't?).

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_

"What are the odds?" Brennan thought to herself as she boarded the plane and made her way to the business class section.

She had actually gotten a last-minute seat on a flight to Charlotte. She had called the airport early in the morning, right after she had called Dr. Goodman to inform him she wouldn't be coming in to work for a couple of days. She thought she had heard relief in her boss's voice as she told her to take as many days as she wanted. She had thanked him before hanging up.

She had then called the airport after that. The woman on the other side of the line told her that it was her lucky day. There was actually two seats left on the plane: on in business class and the other one in the regular one. Without a second thought she asked for the business class ticket. The woman told her she'd be holding it for her. Her was at 10:50 am.

So she had had an hour and a half to get ready before leaving for the airport. She packed her stuff at the speed of light, ignoring her phone that rang at least ten times while she was packing. She knew it was Angela calling her to ask her why she wasn't coming in to work. But Brennan didn't feel like talking to anyone about this. This was going to be her secret; it was something she needed to do. She needed to find this woman, to find out who she was and how come Brennan hadn't heard from her. She had so many questions to ask this woman, she needed to find her. Her conversation with the older woman had been too weird to simply ignore it.

She had left her apartment earlier than she had expected. She left around 9:30. The airport wasn't far from her apartment but she knew by experience that it would take an eternity to cross the security guards and the metal detectors at the airport. Then again she couldn't blame them for being safe. You never knew these days.

She had gotten to the airport in less than twenty minutes, had paid for parking and had walked in the airport. There were so many people around but Brennan knew where she was going.

She stopped at the desk to pick up her ticket, made her way through the airport, to the check-in desk. She gave them her luggage and made her way through the metal detectors. She walked around a bit until she found her gate and sat down in the waiting room.

She waited about twenty minutes before she heard the announcer call the passengers for flight 341 to Charlotte. As she stood in line she couldn't help but think about Booth. She had left him without saying anything. He would be pissed when she'd come back. Shrugging it off, she showed her ticket to the flight and stepped into the tunnel leading to the plane.

Just before heading into business class, she turned around to look at the passengers. Something caught her attention at the back of the plane. A man was walking towards his seat and he looked almost like Booth. Brennan felt her heart beat faster with anxiety.

"Snap out of it Brennan. Booth is NOT on this plane." She thought to herself.

* * *

"What are the odds?" Booth thought to himself as he showed his ticket to the clerk before walking into the tunnel.

He still couldn't believe how lucky he had been.

After leaving the Jeffersonian, Booth had immediately gone to his house, packed up a small suitcase and had driven off to the airport. When he had gotten there, he had gone to buy a ticket. He hadn't actually thought that he'd be able to buy a ticket for a straight flight to Charlotte but the woman at the counter had told him he had been pretty lucky, that she had recently sold one of the last tickets and that unfortunately all that was left was a seat at the far back of the plane. But Booth didn't care. He only wanted to get to Charlotte and find Bones. He bought the ticket without a second thought and ran to the luggage check-in.

It was 10:30 and he knew that they would call the passengers of the flight 341 to board their planes. He sat at the gate, closed his eyes and tried to relax.

Truth was, he was scared to death about Temperance. He had tried multiple times to call her cellphone while driving to the airport but she hadn't picked up. Had she left already? Was it possible that she wasn't going to Charlotte? Was he going there for nothing? And if she were in Charlotte, would he be able to find her? After all, Charlotte wasn't a small city. There was bound to be a whole lot of people. How would he be able to find her?

All these questions raced through his mind as he tried to relax. Soon enough he was forced to open his eyes when the voice of the announcer called the passengers to board the plane. He got up, took the small bag he was carrying and walked to the boarding line. He showed his ticket to the flight attendant standing beside the door then walked away to his plane.

* * *

_Charlotte, North Carolina_

"Please buckle your seatbelts, the plane will be landing shortly." The flight attendant told the passengers.

Temperance opened her eyes and did as she was told. Were they already there? How long had it been? It felt like she had just left Washington. She was so used to long plane trips that this one, which had taken about forty-five minutes, seemed to have taken more like five.

She stretched out her arms to get the sleepy feeling out of them and yawned widely. Her short power nap had done wonders on her even though she hadn't been really tired in the first place.

She looked out the window and saw that they were circling the airport. It wouldn't take long before they would land.

All she needed to do once she got off her plane was find a hotel. She hadn't had the time to call any hotels before leaving and she was hoping to find one close to the airport that would accept her unplanned arrival. She had never been to Charlotte before but she was pretty sure that she would be able to find a hotel close to the airport.

Minutes later Temperance felt the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac. They had landed. A few seconds later, the passengers were getting up, grabbing their bags in the overhead compartment and heading towards the exit.

As Brennan exited her plane she turned her gaze to the back of the plane. The man she had seen earlier was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Booth exited the plane quickly, nearly knocking over two flight attendants.

"Sorry." He mumbled as he speed walked through the tunnel.

He had seen her getting off the plane. He knew it had been her. They had actually taken the same plane and for the second time that day he thought to myself:

"What are the odds?"

But now she was nowhere to be seen. Groaning in frustration, he walked straight to the luggage claim, grabbed his suitcase and made his way out of the airport, not before stopping by the security guards for what seemed like an eternity. Again, he thought, he couldn't blame them.

He hailed a cab and asked him to bring him to the Homewood Suites. He had heard from a colleague one day about this hotel and its cheapness. Since he didn't have a reservation he would most likely be able to find a room on such short notice.

* * *

"Where to?" the cab drive asked Brennan.

"Do you know a nice hotel not too far away where I could find a room in such short notice?"

"The Homewood Suites isn't so bad, from what I have heard."

"The Homewood Suites it is, then."

* * *

TBC of course... unless you guys don't want me to. ;-)


	6. Chapter 6 Wingate Inn

_Fast update for someone who has writer's block, huh? Again I own nothin'! The name of hotel and its location are real, and I certainly do not own that hotel!_

* * *

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Brennan exclaimed herself.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but we're all out of rooms. There are a lot of different hotels around here, I'm sure you will be able to find a room for tonight." The young woman behind the counter replied.

Brennan nodded, barely dissimulating her frustration, before walking away towards the payphone. She wasn't going to go around the city, on foot, to find a hotel with available rooms. She would do what she should have done before leaving Washington: call up some hotels.

She took the yellow pages and flipped the pages until she found the hotel section. Using her finger, she scrolled down the listings and stopped at every hotel whose name contained the word airport. She didn't know this city and didn't feel like being in a hotel, downtown Charlotte, where she would get lost, she was pretty much sure of that.

She tried a few hotels without any luck.

"Since when do people take vacation in the middle of May?" Brennan asked herself as she hung up for the fourth time.

She couldn't any other reason why the hotels would be full at this time of year. Maybe there was a conference or something, she then thought. Maybe.

Crossing her fingers and hoping she'd be lucky, she dialed a fifth number.

"Wingate Inn, how may I help you?" a perky voice answered.

"Yes. I was wondering if you had any rooms free for tonight."

"As a matter of fact we do. How many would you need?"

"One will be enough, thank you." Brennan replied, uncrossing her fingers.

"How many days will you be keeping the room?"

"About a week."

"OK, no problem. Name?"

"Temperance Brennan."

"The doctor?"

"Yes but not the one you are thinking about, I'm pretty sure of it."

The woman didn't say anything. Brennan heard some faint typing and waited for the woman to finish.

"Everything is set. You have a reservation at your name."

"Thank you, that's great."

Temperance folded her cellphone back into her pocket, picked up her luggage and decided she needed to stop by the bathroom before calling another cab. Taking out a pen and a piece of paper out of her purse, she jotted down the hotel's address and made her way through the Homewood Suites in search of a bathroom.

* * *

Booth paid the driver, picked up his suitcase and walked into the hotel. He looked around. This hotel was rather nice. Everything seemed so chic, so elegant.He walked up to the check-in desk and asked if there were any free rooms available.

"I'm sorry, sir." The woman behind the counter replied. "All are rooms are currently occupied."

Booth noticed that the woman looked at him weirdly.

"What? Why are you looking at me that way for?"

"Sorry. It's just that about ten minutes ago, a woman stopped by and asked the same question."

Booth felt his heart beat faster. Bones?

"What did she look like?"

"She was tall, brown-reddish hair, grey eyes. NOT very friendly."

Bones?

"Thank you. Is there a phonebook around somewhere?"

"Yes. Right over there."

Booth nodded his thank you and walked in the direction the clerk was pointing. He reached the payphone, grabbed the yellow pages and flipped through it. He stopped at the hotel section and took out his cellphone. He looked at the time. It was 12:30.

* * *

Brennan walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the front door. She looked around the hotel and found it rather nice. Everything was so elegant, she thought. She looked up at the receptionnist at the front desk and noticed that she was looking at her strangely. She then saw her gaze switch to a man standing at the payphone. Brennan followed her gaze. She thought she recognized the man from the plane. He had his back to her. She shrugged.

As she pushed the front door, she saw that a cab was parked in front of the hotel. Hoping that this was reserved for someone, she quickly walked outside and opened the door to the cab.

"Where to, little lady?" the cab driver asked her.

"The Wingate Inn, 4238 South I-85 Service Road."

The driver nodded and drove out of the parking lot. Brennan took out her cellphone and looked at the time. It was 12:30.

* * *

Wingate Inn was less fancy than the Homewood Suites but Brennan didn't care. She wasn't planning on staying more than a week in Charlotte anyway. All she wanted to do was find Temperance, find out who she is and then she would be going back to Washington.

She walked in the hotel and made her way to the reception desk.

"Good afternoon." The young receptionnist told her in her usual perky voice.

Obviously this was the young woman Brennan had spoken to on the phone earlier.

"I have a reservation under the name Temperance Brennan."

The receptionnist typed in something in her computer.

"Yes. Room 207. Give me just a second to get your key."

The receptionnist turned around and walked to the wall behind her. She grabbed a key on the hook 207 and walked back to the counter.

"The room is yours until May 26th. Have a pleasant stay." She said as she handed the key to Brennan.

"Thank you." She replied politely.

This woman was getting on her nerves.

She turned and walked towards the elevators. She pressed the up button. She just didn't feel like walking up the stairs with her suitcase. She waited a few seconds before the doors opened and she stepped in. As the door closed on her she thought she saw Booth coming to an halt in front of the reception desk.

* * *

"Hi. My name is Seeley Booth and I have a reservation here." He told the perky receptionnist to whom he had spoken barely even thirty minutes ago.

"Yes. Just a moment please."

The receptionnisttyped something in her computer once again.

"Yes. Room 208."

She turned to grab the key and walked back to the counter.

"The room is yours until May 24th. Have a pleasant stay at Wingate Inn."

Booth nodded and ran to the elevators. He pressed the up button, waited a few seconds until the elevator came back from the second floor, stepped inside and pressed the 2. Seconds later he was stepping out in a very silent hallway.

As hewalked out of the shaft, something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. He thought hehad seena woman disappear into a room.

_Bones?_ He thought.

It couldn't possibly be her. What were the odds that she picked the same hotel as him?

_You did take the same plane._ His mind told him.

He told it to shut up.

He walked slowly to his room, unlocked the door and stepped inside.

* * *

_Frustrated they keep missing each other by like a few seconds! evil laugh_


	7. Chapter 7 Thinking Over Lunch

_A/N: OK, I got the message. I'll stop messing around with them. Here is chapter 7, hope you enjoy it. Wingate Inn, Wan Fu and Little Rock Deli really exist and I swear I am not being paid for doing promotion for the city of Charlotte, NC._

* * *

Brennan heard the door from the room next to hers close. She took off her shoes, kicked them in the corner and slowly made her way through her room. It was rather nice, for the price was paying for it, and big enough. 

She threw her suitcase and her purse on a bed and let herself fall on the other side. What was she going to do? She was miles from her home looking for a womanshe barely even knew.It would be complicated to findher. All she knew about her was her name and that she was here in Charlotte to visit her daughter Katy, whom she didn't know the last name. She knew by experience that her name wouldn't be listed in the phonebook so it was no use searching in there. She had one last option and it was to call the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and ask for the doctor. If she was lucky, and she had great doubts about that, Temperance would be there and she would be able to schedule a meeting or something.

But for now she just wanted to eat. She hadn't eaten breakfast and now she was starting to feel her stomach growling. She had seen a few restaurants on her way to the hotel. She wondered if any of them were any good. Oh well. She'd try one anyway.

Getting back up, she walked back to the door, put on her shoes and walked out of her room.

* * *

Booth was just finishing unpacking his stuff when his stomach growled for the third time since he had arrived. 

"Alright alright, we're going to eat!" he told his stomach, feeling rather stupid afterwards.

Closing his suitcase, he wondered where he could go eat. He had seen a few restaurants on his way over, maybe he should try one of them. Then again, the day was nice. Maybe he could walk downtown (apparently it wasn't far, according to the taxi driver) and eat something there.

Dropping his suitcase on the floor beside his bed, he couldn't help but wonder where Brenann was at the moment. He wondered which hotel she had picked. Had she picked the same one as him? He had called several hotel before calling this one and they had been full. Had she had the same luck?

Shrugging, he took his key from the dresser, grabbed his wallet and walked out the door.

* * *

"Wan Fu on Kettering Drive." She told the driver. 

The driver nodded and left the hotel parking lot.

She didn't know why she had picked this restaurant and didn't know why she felt like having chinese food. All she knew was that Wan Fu sounded an awful like another place she knew and as the taxi drove her around Charlotte to the restaurant she couldn't help but wonder if Sid was going to be there. She had picked that restaurant after looking through the yellow pages, on her trip back to her room after she had realized that she had forgotten her purse on her bed.

They drove for a good fifteen minutes before reaching the restaurant. She paid the driver, thanked him and walked to the door.

She was fairly impressed as she stepped inside. It was so nicely decorated. It seemed to Brennan that she had walked straightin China rather than justin a chinese restaurant. The pagoda-shaped restaurant was filled with plants, flowers, red curtains, red and gold Chinese lanterns, statues of cats, dragons and lions. The lighting was dim and in between the chatting of the customers, Brennan could hear the oriental music.

The receptionnist lead her to a small table at the back of the restaurant, handed her the menu and left.

A few minutes later a waiter came to take her order. She had been looking at the menu for at least ten minutes and she still hadn't decided what to take. Everything looked so delicious and she would have listened to herself she would have ordered everything on the menu. Instead she settled for the sesame chicken.

As she waited for her food she took in her surroundings once again. Everything was so nice. She even wished Booth was there with her but she pushed that thought aside. Thinking of him made her heart ache and she'dfeel embarrassedabout what she had done. She should never have told him about her feelings. Why had she listened to Temperance anyway? She didn't even know her. Nobody has ever told her what to do, or at least they tried but she had never obliged, until Booth and now Temperance came along. Had this been a set-up? Had Booth hired the woman to pose asa forensic anthropologist to convince her that she should confess her love for him?

_Come on, Temperance. You are being ridiculous and illogical._ Her mind told her.

And she had to agree with it.

* * *

Booth walked in Little Rock Deli not even five minutes after leaving his hotel. He was starving and for some reason he had a craving for pizza. According to the man he had stopped in the hall of the hotel, no restaurant could beat Little Rock Deli when it came for pizza. So Booth had settled for the Deli. 

Walking in, he was surprised to see that it was practically full. He walked up to the counter, placed his order and went to sit at a table. He was told his pizza would be done in less than ten minutes. Not really believing it, he sat down at a table anyway.

He looked outside the window as he waited for his food. He missed Brennan. Knowing that she was in this city, somewhere, but not knowing where made him miss her even more. Why did she have to leave? Why did have to run? Why couldn't she have just stayed in Washington? He wouldn't be spending what he thought was going to be at least a thousand dollars in Charlotte and he would still be at home, in Washington, with Parker since it was his week-end with him. Now, because of her, he'd have to wait another month before seeing his son.

Anger shot through him. This was all her fault. What was it about her anyway that made him put his whole life aside and fly to Charlotte? What was it about her that made his heartbeat faster every time he saw her? What was it about her that made him want to strangle her at the same time as wrapping his arms around her and never letting go?

Nearly twenty-four hours ago, not even, Brennan had opened up to him. She had shown vulnerability, she had told him that she loved him, she had told him the three words he had longed for her to say for quite a while. And now god knew where she was. He knew she had flown here to find that woman she had met at Wong Foo's and Booth knew that she wasn't going to find her. Not that he thought she was lying, it was just that he had trouble believing her story. It was just too weird. She had met her older twin!

He heard the man behind the counter yell his order which brought Booth back to reality. Already?

He got up and walked to the counter. He picked up his plate and drink and walked back to his table.

He ate quickly and was surprised by how hungry he was. He hadn't known.

Twenty minutes later, Booth was walking back to the hotel. He had to find Brennan. And to find Brennan he needed to find the mystery woman.

* * *

Brennan walked out of Wan Fu almost an hour after she had came in. She was full and ready to start her search for the mysterious Dr. Brennan. Hailing a cab, she couldn't help but wonder how much money she would be spending on taxis during her stay. If only she had taken her car, at least she would have only paid for the gas. 

The drive back to the hotel was silent and Brennan was thankful for that. She didn't feel like talking. She felt like thinking. She needed to think. To think about how she was going to find her older twin. She had already decided that she would call the woman's work but if that didn't work what else was there left to do? She could go ask around the city to see if someone knew her? No that would seem too stupid. But what else was there to do? She was miles away from home in a city she had never been to before looking for a mysterious woman she had met only once. This was going to be one frustrating search.

* * *

Booth picked up his phone book and opened it. Sitting down on his bed, he flipped through the book until he reached the Bs. He knew chances were that she wouldn't be listed but it couldn't hurt to look. 

He ran his index down the columns but, as he had thought, found nothing. What was he to do? He'd never find both Brennans.

Throwing the phonebook on the floor, he laid down on his back, an arm tucked under his head. He needed to think about what he should do but the more he tried to think the more images of Brennan flew in his mind.

"_No you don't have to solve the whole case. Just tell me if I'm looking at a murder. Maybe pull a quick ID?"_

"_Don't use your charm smile on me."_

"_It's a mark of respect. That's all."_

Yeah right it had just been a mark of respect. He had just been happy that she was there with him. He hadn't known it back then that he felt that way about her. He hadn't known until that particular afternoon. He remembered it like it was yesterday.

"_Booth?"_

"_Yeah." _

"_Message from the gang task force unit. Uh, Mara Muerte has put a hit out on your lady scientist."_

"_Oh man." _

"_Got a response?" _

"_Yeah just tell them I got the message. Tell em thanks."_

He had paced back and forth for a while before sitting down on a bench. He remembered thinking that something had to be done. He had to protect his partner. He remembered waiting for Ortez in the alley. He remembered walking up to him, shoving him against the wall.

"_Are you crazy? This is my neighborhood."_

"_You put a hit out on my partner."_

"_She's not FBI."_

_Punching him in the face he added:_

"_I never said anything about FBI. She's my partner ese and if anything happens to her, I will find you and I will kill you, I won't think twice. Come on, here look in my eyes."_

_He had put the gun in Ortez's mouth and had cocked it._

"_Look at my face. If anything happens I will kill you. The is between you and me. Nobody sees, nobody knows. You got nothing to prove. Understand? YOU UNDERSTAND?"_

Even after this even he still hadn't realized what he truly felt. He had driven to the funeral on an adrenaline rush and hadn't felt anything before he had gotten to the cemetery and seen the look on his partner's face. And as she asked him where he had been, it was then that it hit him. She was more than his partner, more than just his friend. He was more than happy that she was alive and he couldn't have helped it but cracking a smile after her question.

After that nothing had been the same, at least for him. He had seen her in a different light, he had truly seen how beautiful she was, how different she was from _normal_ people but at the same time how similar she was to them. Even her _I don't know what that means_ became even cuter than they had been before.

Closing his eyes he tried to relive some other memories but the more he thought about her, the more he felt helpless. He would never find her. He didn't even know how much time he had left before she'd go back to Washington.

Needing something to keep his mind off his partner, he got up, changed into a T-shirt and shorts and left for the gym. A good work out was what he needed.

* * *

_I guess there is no need for me to say TBC..._


	8. Chapter 8 Family

_A/N: I know I frustrated a lot of people with Chapter 7, sorry but something just told me that they shouldn't meet in Chapter 7. But as I promised, here's what you all have been waiting for. Chapter 9 should be posted either today or tomorrow. This story has been long enough. What do you think?_

* * *

A work out had been what he had truly needed. After twenty minutes on the stationnary bike and fifteen minutes of jogging on the treadmill, Booth felt more relaxed than he had felt in weeks. Back in his room he immediately jumped in the shower. 

Ten minutes later he was stepping out of the shower, wrapping his towel around his waist and walking out of the bathroom.

As he got dressed he wondered what to do next. The work out had cleared his mind but hadn't given him the answer he had hoped to find. Maybe he could try calling her. Of course! Why hadn't he thought about it before? He'd call her cellphone. He didn't know if she had turned it on but it was worth the shot.

Grabbing his cellphone he dialed her well-memorized cellphone number. Maybe he should consider putting her on speed-dial?

* * *

On the other side of the wall, Brennan heard her cellphone ringing and, without even checking who was calling, picked up. 

"Brennan." She said, as it was her custom.

"Bones it's me. Where are you?"

Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice.

"Booth?"

"Yeah. Where _are_ you?"

She didn't answer. She hadn't expected him to call. Argh. Why hadn't she turned off her cellphone?

"Bones, are you still there?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I'm still here."

"You have to tell me where you are. I'm going crazy over here. We need to talk about what happened."

All of a sudden everything came rushing back to her; how she had confessed her love for him, how he had done nothing but look at her in the scared, almost disgusted way and how she had known then that she had made a mistake.

_Didn't he just tell you that he was going crazy?_ Her mind asked her.

Was it possible that she had imagined the whole thing? Was it possible that because she had thought about it so many times that her perception of the incident had become biased and that maybe she was dramatizing his reaction every time she thought about it? She wasn't a firm believer in psychology but something in her told her that maybe she had over dramatized the situation and that, maybe, Booth hadn't reacted because she simply hadn't given him the time to react. She started to feel guilty.

"Justgive me a fewdays, Booth, OK? There's just something I have to do first. I'll call you back in a couple of days when I get back in Washington."

Before he even had a chance to reply, Brennan had already hung up.

"Damn it." Booth mumbled from his room.

* * *

The night had been restless for both of them. 

After the phone call, Brennan had paced back and forth in her room, thinking about the short conversation she had had with Booth. She knew that he wanted to know where she was but a part of her hadn't felt like telling him. If she had told him, he would have wanted to come to Charlotte and she didn't want that. This problem, whatever it was, was something she had to solve on her own. She had gone to bed fairly early after watching a bit of TV and grabbing a bit of supper at a restaurant near the hotel.

Booth, on the other hand, slightly depressed by his short conversation with Brennan, had gone out to a bar downtown. He had came back shortly after midnight, exhausted and too depressed to pretend that he was attracted to the women who had hit on him. Truth was, he had felt like he had been cheating on Brennan and had decided to come back to his room before he made a mistake he could regret for the rest of his life.

Back in his room, Booth had played a bit of PlayStation before going to bed.

"Housekeeping!" Booth heard someone say outside his bedroom.

He opened one eye. What time was it? Grabbing his watch on the bedside table, he looked at the time: it was past eleven. Groaning he slowly sat up and rubbed his eye. He hadn't had much to drink the night before and so had no hangover.

The door to his room opened and a woman in her mid-forties came in.

"Sorry." She apologized as soon as she caught sight of Booth. "I'll come back later."

Blushing tremendously, she left the room.

Laughing softly, Booth got up and walked to the bathroom.

* * *

Sitting on her bed, cross-legged, Brennan listened to the ringing tone on the line. She was taking a chance and calling Dr. Brennan's work to see if she was in. 

The phone had been ringing for quite some time before a receptionnist finally picked up the phone.

_At least she doesn't have an annoying perky tone._ Brennan thought, remembering the last time she had called somewhere and a receptionnist had answered the phone.

"May I speak to Dr. Temperance Brennan, please?" Brennan asked.

"She's not in this week. May I know who is calling?" the receptionnist answered.

Brennan froze for a split second. What was she going to say? She couldn't possibly say that her name was also Temperance Brennan, the woman wouldn't even believe her, especially if she added that she was also a forensic anthropologist. Then again, she didn't _need_ to add that part.

"My name is... Temperance Brennan."

"Yes, of course."

Brennan couldhear in her tonethat the woman didn't believe her but she didn't care.

"I met Dr. Brennan a few days ago, she gave me her phone number and I was supposed to give her a call but I lost it. Would you mind giving it to me?"

She took a shot at it even though she knew that the receptionnist would most likely deny her the favor. And she was right.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Brennan, but I cannot divulge the number of our doctors."

"I'm well aware of that but, you see, Dr. Brennan and I have been working on a case together..."

"The case in Washington?" the receptionnist cut in.

"Yes, the case in Washington." Brennan replied, trying to keep the anger from raising through her voice. "And I have some new leads that I would like to discuss with her."

"Are you a cop?"

"No, I'm a forensic anthropolgist."

"But that's impossible. Dr. Brennan is..."

"NOT the only forensic anthropologist _in _the US."

It was Brennan's turn to cut in.

"In fact there are fifty of us who are certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. But I'm sure that's something you knew already. I was busy at the time of the discovery of the bodyso they called in Dr. Brennan but I helped her later on the case. Now I have found some new clues that she needs to know about. It is _crucial_ that I get her number."

There was silence on the line for a few seconds before the receptionnist finally spoke.

"Alright, Dr. Brennan. I will give you her number."

Brennan was truly surprised. She hadn't expected it to work.

* * *

The phone rang but Brennan didn't feel like getting up. She was way too comfortable, laying in her bed, cuddled up against Ryan while the two of them talked about nothing in particular. She loved those mornings that didn't happen often. She loved just laying there with him. She loved him.

The constancy of the ringing annoyed them and Ryan forced her to get up and answer her phone.

"If you don't then I'll do it for you and it won't be pretty." He threatened her.

She knew the threat had been fake but she had nevertheless gotten up and grabbed the phone near the bed.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"It's Dr. Brennan. From Washington?" Bones said, hoping the doctor would remember.

"Temperance! Of course! I remember." Brennan replied. "Why are you calling?"

"I was wondering if we could meet up somewhere. There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Yes. Of course. Are you in Charlotte?"

"Yes. I flew here yesterday."

Brennan nodded even though she knew that her caller couldn't see her.

"Let's meet at my office. We'll have more privacy."

"Actually, it won't be necessary. Are you hungry? Maybe we could meet at some restaurant."

* * *

The restaurant in question was Providence Cafe. Brennan had suggested it and Bones had simply agreed. She had no clue where this place was but as soon as she had told the taxi driver, he had stepped on the gas and had left quickly the hotel, telling her that she had made a great choice to go eat there.

For the whole drive, Bones wondered what she was going to tell Brennan. There was nothing really to say. She couldn't possibly just say: Who are you? How come you've never heard of me? How come you look so much like me? Then the thought hit her. Were they related? Brennan wasn't really a common last name. Was it possible that this woman was her cousin or something?

She couldn't get the idea out of her head for the rest of the ride to the restaurant. And as she stepped out of the cab and saw Brennan standing near the entrance, the thought of them being related grew stronger. But this didn't make sense. She didn't have any family members left. Russ was out west _somewhere_ doing whatever it was he was doing, her parents had disappeared, her grandfather had died a long time ago and she didn't know any other family members.

She quickly paid the driver, told him to keep the change and ran towards her older twin.

"Hello Temperance." The older woman said.

"Hey."

"You hungry?"

"Starving."

"Great! Then let's go in."

Minutes later they were being seated on a terrace outside and looking through the menu.

"The food is expensive here but you'll love everything! I come here very often."

"With your boyfriend?"

"Not so much with my boyfriend. I rarely see him anyway. No, I used to come here often with my daughter and now that she's all grown up, I just come here by myself."

Bones nodded.

They looked at the menu in silence for a few minutes before both putting it down at the same time.

"So? You wanted to talk to me about something." Brennan asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. It hit me a few hours ago. You know how we look alike?"

Brennan nodded and Bones suddenly felt stupid. They couldn't possibly be related. Could they?

"Well I was wondering if, maybe, it wasn't because we were related in some way."

She looked up at the older woman and gained confidence in the fact that she wasn't currently laughing in her face.

"I mean, Brennan is not a common last name and the fact that we look alike and that we have the same last time made me wonder if, maybe, we were related."

"It's possible." Brennan replied. "What were your parents' names?"

"My dad was called Matt and my mom was named Christine."

At the mention of her parents' names, Bones thought some kind of emotion had passed over Brennan's face but it had gone away so quickly, she wondered if she had even seen something.

Brennan cleared her throat and took a sip of the water the waiter had poured in her glass a few minutes before.

"Temperance? Have you ever heard of Jack and Leslie Brennan?"

Bones thought for a couple of seconds before answering no. She had never heard of these people.

"They were my parents. My dad had a brother he had never met. My dad was adopted at a young age and had gotten seperated from his brother. He didn't even know his name. My mom, Leslie, had a twin sister. Her name was Christine. When they were fifteen, my mom met my dad. They ran away together and moved to North Carolina and my mom never saw her family again. What's possible is that we could be cousins."

"But that's impossible. You are much older than I am."

"Yes, by what? Ten? Fifteen years? How old were your parents when you were born?"

"My dad was 33 and my mom was 31 when they had me."

"My mom had me when she was 16. This was one of the reasons why my parents ran away. They came to live with my dad's uncle until they were old enough to move out. They had my sister shortly after moving out on their own."

Bones nodded. This could make sense but there was still one more thing she wanted to ask.

"Do you remember your grandfather's name? On which side?"

"Your mom's side."

"I think his name was William."

Bones nodded once again. Her grandfather, the one who had taken her out of the foster system, had been named William.

* * *

The rest of the lunch had gone great. They had talked about multiple things. Bones had told her cousin about Booth and what had happened and Brennan had sympathized even though she had thought she had acted rather stupidely by leaving without telling him.

"You didn't even gave him the time to react. Poor guy. He must be going nuts back home."

Then Bones had told her about her conversation with Booth on the phone and Brennan hadn't been surprised when Bones told her that Booth had said he was going crazy.

"Call him as soon as you get to your hotel room, Temperance. And now that you've spoken to me, _please_ go back to Washington. Go see him. Tell him you're sorry, tell him anything. Just talk to him."

And for the second time in two days, Bones was determined to take her cousin's advice.

So as she walked down the hall to her room, her heart raced faster and faster. A few more steps and she would be in her room, cellphone in hand, pressing Booth's speed-dial number.

She stopped in front of her door and looked through her purse. The door beside hers opened and a man stepped out. She looked up and she thought her heart had stopped beating.

"Booth?"

Booth turned around and never had a chance to react before he felt a body collide with his, arms wrapping around his neck and clutching to him like a lifeline.

* * *

_Again, I'm really sorry for all the suspense. Didn't mean to frustrate anyone. Next chapter coming soon but until then, don't forget to review!_


	9. Chapter 9 Happy Ending

_A/N: Well here it is, the final chapter! I know I said thatI was going to post this this week-end but Saturday night I had writer's block then Sunday I woke up with a very sore wrist and it would hurt when I typed. It still hurts as I'm typing this but after frustrating everybody I thought you all deserved a quick update. So even though my wrist is in a lot of pain, here is the final chapter. Hope you all enjoy it and don't forget to review!_

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It took Booth a couple of seconds to process what had just happenedbut as soon as everything clicked in his mind, he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. As he held her tightly, he couldn't help wondering how come she was there. Had she known which hotel he was staying at? He pushed that thought aside and simply enjoyed the fact that he was holding her. 

He didn't know how long they had been standing there, holding each other, in the hallway of the hotel but Booth held her tight until he felt her squirm in his arms. He let her pull away a bit but kept his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I came to see you." He replied as he leaned in.

He had been about to kiss her when she dodged.

"When did you get here?"

"Same time as you. We took the same plane." He told her, smiling in an attempt to hide the fact that it had hurt when she had dodged.

"How did you know I was staying in this hotel?"

"I didn't." He answered truthfully. "We just happened to pick the same hotel, that's all."

She gave him her I-don't-believe-you look before smiling at him. She saw him look at her lips and it was obvious to herthat he wanted to kiss her but she wasn't going to let him that easy. She felt like teasing him a little.

"Can I kiss you now?" Booth begged her.

"Why?" she asked him. _Is he really begging?_

But all of her hopes of teasing came crashing down when, without answering,Booth leaned in quickly and pressed his lips on hers before she had the time to dodge once more. But,to his surprise,Brennan stayed passive instead and Booth was forced to pull back.

She saw the hurt in his eyes and immediately felt guilty. She hadn't meant to hurt him, she just hadn't felt like doing this in the hallway. She told him so and before turning to her door she saw in his eyes and by the expression on his face that he was relieved.

She felt his hands on her hips which caused her to think that her legs were going to give out on her. She weakly unlocked the door, swiping her card in the lock, and opened it. She felt Booth pushing her inside the room. She turned around to face him. He had barely closed the door behind him with his foot when he kissed her once again. Eyes closed, she felt him pushing her to the bed and they soon fell on it.

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Booth opened his eyes a few hours later feeling rather cold. He looked down to see that the blankets barely covered his naked body. He turned on his side and stared at the woman asleep beside him, hogging all of the blankets. He smiled to himself as he propped himself on his elbow to get a better look at her. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep. He tried taking some of the blankets but the more he tugged on them, the more she tugged on them as well. 

"Temperance." He whispered, gently shaking her to wake her up.

But Brennan didn't wake up. She smile sighed happily in her sleep and pulled the blankets to her even more, this time leaving Booth completely blanket deprived.

"Bones." He added a little louder and shakinga littlebit more.

Still she wouldn't wake up.

"Come on, Bones, I'm cold. Give me some of these blankets."

He saw her stirring and sigh out of relief.

"What are you whinning about, Booth?" she asked him, having been raised from her slumber by the sound of his whinning.

"I'm cold, Bones. Quit hogging the blankets."

Booth pulled on the bedspread and covered himself up. Brennan turned around and cuddled up against him.

"There, are you all better?" she asked him teasingly.

"Yeah."

They stayed in silence for a few minutes simply enjoying each other's company.

"Why did you come to Charlotte?" Brennan asked him.

"I needed to see you."

"Why?"

"Gee, let me jog your memory, Bones. You show up at my house at night, ask me to go take a walk then when we come back from it, you tell me you love me and before I even have a chance to answer you take off."

"Sorry."

She sounded really sorry and Booth's heart ached at the thought that maybe he had hurt her. He hadn't snapped or anything but maybe something in his voice had made her think that he was mad.

"I'm not mad, Temperance." He said, kissing her on top of her head. "I love you too, you know."

He heard her sigh happily and he couldn't help but smile.

"My turn. Why did you take off?"

"I had to find Temperance."

"Did you?"

"Yeah. I was just coming back from lunch with her when I saw you."

"And?"

"She's my cousin."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. My dad was her dad's brother and my mom's twin sister was her mother."

"Whoa that's weird. And you didn't know she was your cousin?"

"No. I had never met her parents and my parents never talked about them. Apparently, her parents ran away when they were teenagers because my aunt was pregnant with Temperance. Her parents cut their family out of their lives. Temperance had only heard about my grandfather William, the one who got me out of the foster system."

"Hmm... talk about a coincidence especially since you two have the same name and the same profession."

"I don't know about the name but the profession is surely coincidental."

"Why do you say that?"

"Our mothers are the ones who chose our names. Temperance thinks it's got to do with how seperated twins sometimes lead some sort of parrarel lives. In our case, both our mothers chose the name Temperance for their first daughters."

"And of course you don't believe her because you don't believe in psychology."

"Perhaps."

"Are you two going to keep in touch?"

"Yeah. We exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers. Oh, and guess what? She also has a younger sister named Harry. It's short for Harriet. AND she has a daughter named Katy, which makes her my niece."

She had added that last bit somewhat proudly and Booth chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing." He replied lifting his head so he can look in her eyes. "I'm just happy you finally found a family."

Temperance smiled.

"Even without them, I would have found a family anyway."

Getting what she meant, Booth smiled and leaned in to kiss her.

THE END

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_Thank you for those who reviewed the story and those who sticked with me. I have more ideas for stories to come so keep an eye out for them. Until next time:-)_


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